MP Hazel Blears throws support behind interns scheme

Salford MP Hazel Blears has welcomed an internship scheme which will see disadvantaged people from the north sampling life at Westminster. Ms Blears established the Parliamentary Placements initiative with two fellow MPs as a way of making the corridors of power more accessible for people from less privileged backgrounds.

Salford MP Hazel Blears has welcomed an internship scheme which will see disadvantaged people from the north sampling life at Westminster.

Ms Blears established the Parliamentary Placements initiative with two fellow MPs as a way of making the corridors of power more accessible for people from less privileged backgrounds.

It will give 12 people from ordinary backgrounds across England the opportunity to undertake a paid internship in Parliament.

The scheme was formally launched by House of Commons Speaker John Bercow on Wednesday.

Ms Blears, who has said she wants to see Salfordians taken on by the scheme, secured nearly £250,000 in pledges for the scheme through months of lobbying.

She addressed an interns rally at the launch and said it would play a vital role in making Parliament more accessible for people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

"I am absolutely delighted that our scheme has now been launched and is open for applicants," she said. "Over the past few months the role of internships has been under intense scrutiny, and those of us who work in politics know too well that the system of unpaid internships freezes people out of political life.

"I hope that our programme can act as a catalyst for change by demonstrating that unpaid internships are unjust and unfair. There’s a real difference between short, work experience placements which are voluntary, and long-term internships which are exploitative."